Narain Karthikeyan unveils the Jaguar F-Type Coupe at the Auto Expo

Earlier this week, Narain Karthikeyan unveiled the coupe version of the F-Type convertible, the Jaguar F-Type Coupe at the Auto Expo. Jaguar has roped in Narain to promote the sportscar in India and the race car driver also appears in a commercial of the Coupe. Unveiled globally at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Expo, the sportscar is expected to be launched here, later this year.

As the name suggests, the Coupe shares most of its underpinnings and mechanicals with the previously launched F-Type Convertible. Even the overall design is very similar to the roadster up to the point where it reaches the roof. Here onwards, things change drastically as the arch of the roof carries swooping lines over the hatch which meets the cat eyes styled rear tail lamps. The body is made from a single aluminum stamping with a high-strength aluminum beam linking the A-pillar to the rear pillar. The Coupe is available with either an aluminum or a glass roof, though Jaguar engineers claim that both cars are equally rigid. The Convertible is a really good looking car but Jaguar has managed to make the Coupe even more attractive than the former. The interiors and rest of the features of the cars remain the same as the convertible and the Coupe will get all of the creature comforts like the luxurious leather upholstery, a touch screen infotainment system and the asymmetric center stack which features a prominent grab handle.

The engine options for the Coupe have also been carried over from the roadster. The base and the S variant both come with a 3.0-litre V6. The engine produces 340bhp and 450Nm of torque in the former and 380bhp and 460Nm of torque in the latter. The top-of-the-line F-Type R variant will be propelled by a 5.0-litre supercharged V8 which produces 550bhp and 680Nm of torque. All engines power the rear wheels via a ZF eight-speed gearbox.

Under the ownership of Tata, Jaguar has become a very successful company and delivered the best ever sales figures in 2013. It is also one of the fastest growing luxury car brands in the country, with the sales figures having increased by 21 per cent for the previous year.